There were a lot of important games in Week 25 of the Premier League and I am going to give a quick review about a few of the great ones. These games were right to the wire and made a big difference in the table.
The Merseyside Derby Liverpool vs Everton– It was another disappointing game for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool as they cannot win now. Everton finally won against their arch-rivals and played much better than Liverpool. They started quick and strong with Richarlison getting a perfect pass and finishing it in the far bottom corner from James Rodriguez in the 3rd minute which was the only goal of the first half. It remained scoreless till the 83rd minute when Richarlison broke free and got it to Dominic Calvert-Lewin who went down in the penalty box and got Everton a late game sealing opportunity. Gylfi Sigurðsson cooly slotted the penalty past Allison to double their advantage. Liverpool couldn’t get past Everton’s Jordan Pickford and the back 4 for the entire game and continued their losing streak as they lost 2-0. Liverpool and Everton are now tied with 40 points but Liverpool lead on goal difference.
Manchester United vs Newcastle United– Manchester United shoved off their recent struggles in this game to win easily. Marcus Rashford broke the deadlock in the 30th minute with a beautiful play to beat Darlow at his near post to give his team the lead. It didn’t take long for Newcastle though. They got a corner which was poorly headed by Harry Maguire and the ball fell right for Saint-Maximin who drilled the ball into the top shelf to tie it in the 36th minute. It remained equal until Daniel James breezed the ball into the back of the net from a flick from Bruno Fernandes to make it 2-1 in the 57th minute. They kept pressing and got awarded a penalty in the 75th minute after Rashford got clipped. Referee Paul Tierney didn’t hesitate and gave the penalty to Manchester. Fernandes easily scored as Darlow went the wrong way to give United a 3-1 cushion. They held their lead to take an important win as Newcastle stayed 3 points ahead of 18th place Fulham.
West Ham vs Tottenham– West Ham continued their great recent form in this game also while Tottenham lost another one. The Hammers struck quickly in the 5th minute from Michail Antonio who returned from an injury and headed the ball in to give West Ham an early lead. They then started the 2nd Half strong after Jesse Lingard who is playing lovely on this team doubled their lead from a super strike. Tottenham cut the lead in half in the 64th after Gareth Bale delivered a beautiful corner which Lucas Moura headed in the back of the net. The Spurs couldn’t score one more and lost again as their struggles continued. West Ham moved into 4th, 2 points ahead of Chelsea and 4 points behind Manchester United and Leicester City.
Arsenal vs Manchester City– This game wasn’t as exciting nor a lot of goals as the other one but the outcome meant a lot to the table. City struck quickly in the game inside 2 minutes as Riyad Mahrez crossed the ball to Raheem Sterling who placed his header perfectly to make it 1-0 very early on. That remained the score for the whole game surprisingly and Man City got another 3 points in this tight win. Arsenal created some chances but weren’t able to make City uncomfortable. Arsenal is now 11th after Leeds United won against Southampton on Tuesday. City now has a 11 point gap over the 2nd place team with 59 points and a 16 game unbeaten run.
Aston Villa vs Leicester City– This game was an exciting one both halves of the game and was right down to the final whistle. Leicester City exploded in the 1st Half with James Maddison striking first assisted by Harvey Barnes in the 19th minute and then Barnes also scored in the 23rd minute. 2 goals in 4 minutes was a great start to the game for Leicester.
It remained 2-0 till the 48th minute past Halftime. Bertrand Traore cut City’s lead in half with a great goal in the 48th minute. Unfortunately for Aston Villa, they could not dig out one more goal and lost 2-1. The injury of Jack Grealish really affected them and how they played in this game without their skipper. Leicester is now tied with Manchester United with 49 points but are losing on goal difference so are in 3rd place.
Southampton vs Chelsea– This game vs a disappointing tie for both sides as they tied 1-1. The Saints broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute with young Takumi Minamino who scored a beauty. They held that slim lead past halftime but couldn’t contain Chelsea from scoring. Mason Mount got fouled by Danny Ings in the penalty area and Chelsea received a penalty kick. Mount calmly sent McCarthy the wrong way to equalize the game. It remained scoreless all the way to the end and it ended up as a 1-1 draw. Southampton broke their long losing streak but a tie for the Blue wasn’t ideal. They are 2 points behind West Ham and are in 5th place with 43 points.
All these games had a big effect on the table, mainly for the top 5 teams. Match week 25 of the Premier League was very exciting and was quite impactful as the season is slowly coming to an end.
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